Languaging Co-Creation

Authors

  • John Wood Goldsmiths University of London, London, United Kingdom

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23726/cij.2026.1842

Keywords:

abductive reasoning, autopoiesis, bisociation, body-mind dualism, catalysis, choral singing, co-authoring, co-languaging, conscience, consciousness, context, conviviality, co-optimism, co-pessimism, co-semiosis, creative quartets, distributed creativity, entredonneur, emulsifiers, endosynergy, exosynergy, genius, head/hand/heart/humour, relevation, research, search, second-order systems, sympoiesis, artificial intelligence

Abstract

Presented as an alphabetical glossary of concepts and neologisms, this paper depicts human co-creation as a potential global resource for turning existential 'unthinkables' into micro-utopian 'possibles'. Recent archaeological discoveries show the creativity of Homo sapiens to be innate. Also, as language is such a powerful shaper of our shared realities we all have some potential to ‘co-language’ beliefs, assumptions and, therefore, our collective behaviours. While some may find this fanciful, it has precedents. Raphael Lemkin had studied the Ottoman attacks on Armenia in WW1, concluding that they went beyond simple military aggression. He argued that attempts to destroy national or ethnic groups required new legal descriptions. However, only after he created the neologism ‘genocide’ in 1943 did the League of Nations recognise it. This changed international law. This suggests that while we can ‘language’ transitions from the ‘unimaginable’ to the ‘thinkable’, we need a better understanding of its co-creative nature.

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Published

2026-09-16

How to Cite

Wood, J. (2026). Languaging Co-Creation. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 10(2), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.23726/cij.2026.1842